BONGAIGAON, March 29 � A construction company of Bhutan has allegedly detained labourers of Bongaigaon who wanted to come back home leaving their work being unable to withstand unfavourable weather conditions there. One labourer has already expired facing hardship and other crises. He has been identified as Meher Ali (40).
According to the AMSU general secretary Rezaul Karim Sarkar, Phatik Ali and Kadam Ali took 20 odd labourers to Bhutan from Hapachara area on March 4 promising to engage them in construction works. Taking them there the duo handed over them to a construction company at Bungthang in Bhutan. The company people allegedly ill-treated the labourers and forced them to do overwork. When the poor labourers objected, they were physically tortured by the company people at the road construction site, Saha Ali, a labourer who somehow escaped from Bhutan and after reaching here disclosed the woes of his fellow workers. Thus the families of the detained labourers recently met higher police officials of the district and appealed to them to bring back the labourers and the body of the deceased worker. Accordingly police has taken steps to help the victims.